Livestock such as dairy cows, and cattle in feed lots, are generally confined to pens or corrals as opposed to being allowed free range in pastures. It is there in the pens, where feed consumption and diet can be controlled, and where veterinary procedures can be performed. For purposes of this prior art background section, a typical dairy cow pen will be used as an example of the prior art. The pen is usually sized to accommodate 100 or more dairy cows. On one side of the enclosure there is a feed bunk, which is simply a concrete platform, usually placed at ground level, adjacent to a vertical curb which separates the concrete platform from the interior surface of the pen. Vertically oriented lockable stanchions are affixed to curb, and serve as a fence like barrier to allow the dairy cows to insert their heads through the stanchions to access the feed deposited on the feed bunk while at the same time preventing the cows from simply walking out of the pen and onto the feed bunk.
Lockable stanchions are generally preferred, as they can be left in an open position wherein each cow has free access to the feed bunk, or in a self locking configuration wherein once the cow inserts her head through the stanchion and lowers it to begin feeding, the stanchion latches in a locked position to hold the cows head in the stanchion, and a locked position to either lock the cows out or in depending upon what is needed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,878,697 and 6,082,306 to Hatfield are typical examples of the existing lockable stanchion designs, and the teachings of these patents are herein incorporated by reference.
Fencing completes the pen enclosure, which is normally configured to form a rectangular shaped pen. Water is provided by means of a water trough, which is usually nothing more than a suitably sized water tank, and normally located at the side of the pen opposite to the feed bunk. The reason that the water tank is located on the opposite side of the enclosure is because the area around the tank can become quite muddy.
In a typical dairy operation, especially those operations having a thousand or more cows, the cows are segregated by age and status into numerous pens. The nutritional requirements of the cows vary considerably depending upon age and status, for example, very young calves are monogastric and require liquid nutrition until the rumen starts to develop, and a young heifer has other nutritional needs that are different from those of a lactating cow. The use of the standard feed bunk, in conjunction with stanchions, facilitates the customization of the feed ration and the quantity of that ration to the type of livestock held in the various pens. The use of lockable stanchions assures equal access to that feed ration by all of the livestock held in the pen. In the case of lactating dairy cows the use of stanchions, in conjunction with the feed bunks, provides a means of ensuring that the cows each as much of the ration as possible, as it is well known that there is a correlation between the amount of milk produced and the poundage of feed consumed. As a general rule, a lactating Holstein cow should consume approximately 100 pounds of feed ration per day, with that feed ration comprised of approximately 50 to 55 pounds of dry feed matter, with the remainder in the form of moisture content. As a general rule, a Holstein cow will convert additional feed, above the additional 50 to 55 pounds of dry feed to milk at the ratio of 1 pound of feed to 2 pounds of milk.
The use of lockable stanchions also facilitates confinement of the livestock so as to enable veterinary care, pregnancy testing, and artificial insemination, amongst other needs. As a result, it is good practice to lock the livestock in the lockable stanchions for at least one hour, and sometimes up to several hours per day starting at the beginning of feeding when the feed ration is first deposited upon the feed bunk. This provides an opportunity for the dairyman to tend to the various needs of the livestock and ensure that the proper or desired feed ration is consumed by each animal.
The problem is that when the livestock are locked in the stanchions they do not have access to water. As a result, when the stanchions are unlocked there will be a mass movement of livestock from the feed bunk to the water tank, where they will crowd around it while attempting to drink.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a combination livestock feeding and watering system that makes available to all animals held in a pen equal access to both feed ration and a continuous supply running water while feeding irrespective of whether the animal is confined in a stanchion or simply allowed free access to feed. It is also an object of this invention to provide a livestock feeding and watering system that optimizes feeding and drinking conditions such that it maximizes the amount of feed the livestock will consume.